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AFC Rushden and Diamonds - Back from the dead.

This is my team. Its strange as i started watching Rushden Town in 1988 as a six year old and then in 1992 a merger with Irthlingborough Diamonds brought around Rushden and Diamonds. After years of success and going from non league to what is now League One the club hit on money troubles. Quick relegations back to the Blue Square Bet Premier left us trying to start over but the wheels came off dramactically last season and in the summer the club was denied a place at non-leagues top table for the current season. Basically RDFC is dead. But as with clubs at this level a new side was created and away we go again.

For people that dont know AFC Rushden and Diamonds for this current season are running with just an u-18's side and doing well. For the 2012/13 we hope for a place in the United Counties Premier Division and a ground share with Wellingborough Town. We have a fantastic support base already and have 418 (at last count) paid up members and our games attract between 200 and 500 fans, just for u-18 games on weekday evenings.

So onto my career. I have opened up the lower leagues down to English County Leagues. I have taken out Blackstones from the United Counties League and replaced them with the extinct Rushden and Diamonds base within the editor. Given the fan base the club has currently i have changed all the Rushden stats to match fellow UCL side King's Lynn. They like us has good support and have been forced to drop many leagues to start again. I have copied Wellingborough for youth and training facilities as we are going to be ground sharing. I have given the club the same budget as King's Lynn which is one of the bigger in the league but that will be backed by the fans coming in.

Season 2011/2012

Now i have already completed a season and a half before i decided to start a career thread so the first season will be brief.

Being in the lowest division the way i manage is totally different to a top side. I make a signing a week almost and brought in 44 players last season. Many were on £15 pw contracts and it was trial and error as i had no players when i started the game. After going through many players in the first four games i settled on a squad i was happy ish and off we went, trying to move through the non-league levels. I have managed in UCL before with both Irchester and Wellingborough and won the league with ease so i was hoping for the much the same this season.

Everything seemed to click and after the 42 games we were comfortably the winners of the league.

That leads us into the Southern League First Divison Central Divsion for next season, one step closer to the top. My aim is to get the club back into the BSBP before i think about leaving.

I have noticed already in my career that many clubs have had take overs and mine was no different. During the summer of 2012 Neil Crace comes in as chairman and tells me he has no interest in chucking money into the club. I thought that was fair enough but moaned and moaned about youth hoping to improve what we have.

Season 2012/2013

I have made no changes to my squad ahead of the new season and have kept on the players from last year. We are spending £100,000 per year on wages which is third highest in the league and given the success of last season we are getting 1000 fans to our home games. I am a little down about this as im thinking i may have edited the club a little too good but looking at King's Lynn they have an average attendance of 908 so maybe i haven't. I don't to careers when i have given one club a huge advantage but i do feel this is becoming a little too good to be me! Opinions please?

Im thinking this because my side continue to win games and after 31 games the table looks like this:

Its looking likely that promotion is coming our way so from next season will to better and more regular updates but would like some feedback on what i have done in terms of adding the club? I feel i have put the club at the level they will come in at, facilities and support but i have a bit of a downer on it as its been easy so far? Hmm....

It does seem easy at that level in FM anyway, but you have put Rushden into a league they aren't in, though with likely realistic finances and facilities. Maybe you should have played just under 18s in the first season to mirror what Rushden are doing this season?

It does seem easy at that level in FM anyway, but you have put Rushden into a league they aren't in, though with likely realistic finances and facilities. Maybe you should have played just under 18s in the first season to mirror what Rushden are doing this season?

Kind of wish i had in that first season but now in my third year 16 players in my first team squad are 18 or younger.

Of my regular starting XI the ages are:

GK 30
DL 17
DR 17
DC 25
DC 17
MR 20
ML 17
MC 30
MC 17
FD 16
FD 17

Thats an average age of 20.72 so i am certainly keeping faith with young uns.

Our one and only season in the Southern League First Divison Central was fantastic. With the same squad as last season we win the league with great ease but the big news is from the board. My old chairman excepted that we needed a stadium to call our own and my new boss agrees and has the cash to make it happen. October 2014 is when we are due to open the AFC Rushden Stadium with a huge capacity of 3279!

congrats, it does get harder eventually! Make sure you have a couple of scouts found a few gems in the lower leagues.

I have six players im looking at closely but money is very tight. Have a couple of players who i have picked up and am looking to bring into the first team soon enough. Had a couple of League Two managers watching my players also so may have to sell to buy.

A new season, a new league. The most thrilling fixtures this year will be against main rivals and new tennants at our former home Kettering Town. Successive promtions for us were matched by successive releagations and im expecting us to battle for top spot. Maybe a little optimistic but the bookies have us second favs behind The Poppies.

Over 180 minutes the clubs could not be tighter matched but the league was a different matter...

We have now moved into our new home, AFC Rushden Stadium and are ready for an exciting season in the BSN. Local derbies with Kettering and Corby will be the highlights but also games against Chester and FC Halifax will pit us against other clubs that have come back from the ashes of former clubs.

After the way we have dominated in the last couple of years i have decided against bringing in new faces as i am confident with the players we have. Maybe a loan or two if i can attract anyone but with the new stadium im looking to keep costs down.

I will continue with the 4-4-2 formation and here is a little look at some of my players:

A good start tot our season in the top flight of non-league. Its far to easy to carried away and im certainly not. The first five games have gone well but the three teams we beat during August are currently in the bottom four and the other two, Fleetwood and Boston are in 15th and 19th. Game one was live on tv and we gave the viewers a special performance. The star of the show was Tommy Bobbins whose second of the game ended as the BSBP Goal of the Month. Not to be bowled over by that Bobbins strike against Fleetwood came second in the poll. In all our games we have had spells of domination where we look unbeatable but we seem to switch off after half time.

September brings six games including games against third and fourth place Barrow and Chelmsford. We will be without defender Adam Fray who is to serve a three match ban following a horror tackle in the Fleetwood win. A Manager of the Month award has just been delivered for myself and Tommy Bobbins continues to pick up awards, this time Young Player of the Month.

Your doing better than me mate, well done. Keep an eye on Colwyn Bay they seem to get quite a few quality players on trial, I pinched more than a few off them!

Great start to the BSP

Cheers!!

I have my scouts in BSN and Colwyn Bay seem to be a second home for some of my staff. Every month there are two or three players that catch the eye. Im hoping to keep this squad together as the average age is 18.77. We could go far together.

Also take notes on other clubs your scouts seem to take a liking to. I had about 4 clubs I used to scout on youth candidate day. Bovey, Northwich Villa, Askern Villa and Launceston. Someof the non league clubs sem to have insane youth facilities not sure if random or pre-set but I found by using my scouts I made a lot of money selling these players on.

Thats a very young squad if you can continue to get promoted every year it should be easier to hang onto. Tie them down to long contracts as some of the demands can get quite ridiculous

Also take notes on other clubs your scouts seem to take a liking to. I had about 4 clubs I used to scout on youth candidate day. Bovey, Northwich Villa, Askern Villa and Launceston. Someof the non league clubs sem to have insane youth facilities not sure if random or pre-set but I found by using my scouts I made a lot of money selling these players on.

Thats a very young squad if you can continue to get promoted every year it should be easier to hang onto. Tie them down to long contracts as some of the demands can get quite ridiculous

I must be honest after reading through your thread a couple of nights ago i did have a little look at some clubs you mentioned. I have a shortlist of about 25 players at the moment that im looking at.

As with my players i have most on three year deals but one of my star forwards wants £6,750 p/w. NOT A HOPE! I have a decent amount spare in wages, spending about £12k with a budget of £15k. Im the 8th highest wages in the league so room to play around. Scouts are regular at my club checking out three or four players, rejected two bids from West Brom for £750,000 and £1.2m. Very tempting offers but im dying to keep the squad together.

Our first season in the BSBP has been a success so far. With our other seasons i have hoped we will challenge for at least a play-off place and we have gone on to win the title and this season my aim is the same.

The season started off well and continued to get better until mid November brought around four defeats in a row. As we move into January the table is:

A nice lead at the top but i am still wary of Ebbsfleet as they can close the gap.

A few player issues have started to hit with top scorer Tommy Bobbins requesting a move away from AFC Rushden Stadium. There is interest from Middlesboro and Crystal P for midfielder Gary Halford and defender Adam Fray.

As for cup competitions:

FA Cup

Wins over league rivals gave us a 2nd round trip to League One Carlisle. Despite a close 1-0 defeat we rarely tested the home keeper and we are now left with the FA Trophy.

FA Trophy

Only one round in but a comfortble home victory over our former landlords was after five defeats in a row. For me the most important result so far. I was hoping for a trip to local rivals Kettering Town in the next round but Chelmsford held off the BSN side in the replay. Looking for revenge as it was 'The Clarets' that dumped us out of the same competition last season.

Our form from the first half of the season continued right through to the end. Another successful season at AFC Rushden Stadium brings a fifth promotion in a row and back to the Football League we go.

The normal manager changes clicked in around the middle of May and my name has been linked with a few. The first to follow up the media interest was newly relegated from the Championship Middlesborough

After having a look at the players they have and more importantly the money they have been spending i decided this job was not for me. Would need to sell many players and as i have been managing in the very lower leagues i have limited knowledge of good League One players.

Next came a newspaper report linking me with West Brom. A club just relegated from the Premier League. Never would they want me so i brushed off the interest.

Until

Now i am stuck. A really good offer from a good yo-yo club but the chance to manage my club into the FL is a challenge i would love.

After asking for a week to think about it im still no closer to deciding. Im off for a shopping trip to Asda with the family to decide. Any opinions?

Im not sure how close to the top i will get mainly due to money. We are just in a new stadium which holds 3,200 but with player sales its being expanded to about 4,500. I doubt the growth of the stadium is going to be huge so if i continue to get through the leagues could have a max capacity of something like 8,000 which will not be good enough. No chance of new stadium for 17 years!!

I personally think that leaving without trying League 2 would be something i would regret and i have a squad that is full of youngsters so thats exciting. Currently the oldest player in my first team is 20!!

After alot of thought up and down the aisles of Asda i have decided to give AFC Rushden and Diamonds at least another year of my time. Have had a great five seasons and leaving would feel like i have left before i should have. My aim when taking the job was to restore them to the Blue Square Premier and that has been done so now the aim is to reach League One, the level R&DFC once reached.

The summer has seen a turn around of staff a little and some rewarding contracts for the star players of my squad.

Players leaving were the like of Prosser (152 league games) who has joined League Two Millwall

Ryan Da Silva (107) and Pelly Ruddock (156) were the other first teamers who were released and the rest were young reserve players apart from Adam Fray. The 20 year old who played 145 times for me has moved upto the Championship with Norwich City for a fee of £1.4m with another £1m possible in add-ons.

The money from that has gone in expanding the stadium a little more and i will be using none to replace the players who have left.

Only 3 players have joined, all wingers.

Reece Ridley: 19 year old back up left winger joins from AFC Telford. Four years spent with the BSBP club brought around just 20 league apps but a solid display against my title winning side twice last season made my mind up to give him a chance. Still young and will be second choice as my first choice Jon Evans is one of the best players at the club.

Louis Piper: The right winger was signed from Portsmouth and again fits the mould as a youngster, 18. He can play across the midfield although his best position is right wing.

Ross Gosling: Signed on a season long loan from Middlesborough he will be my first choice right winger and has impressed in pre season so far. At 17 has yet to make a professional appearence but six goals from seven pre season games has the rest of the league worrying, not me.

Pre-season went as well as possible. I decided for seven games this summer, more than normal with a couple of Prem teams (Man City and Burnley) and a couple of lower league sides (Nuneaton and Margate)

Cracking results and performances there. Good home crowds for the friendlies also. Man City came with half first team players (Rob Green, James Milner, Marcelo and even Balotelli played 45 mins). We only had one shot in anger but it flew into the bottom corner.

The Scunny game was by the far the most exciting 1-0 up, 2-1 down, 3-2 up, 3-3 then two late goals gave us the win.

Nine goals from Richard Roach should give the 18 year old confidence as the season starts.

The League Cup has drawn Championship side Preston at home. A tough tie but looking forward to it.

Have set the challenge at a mid-table position for this season and am very hopeful of getting that. My main concern is top scorer Tommy Bobbins is out of contract next summer and wants £3k + pw to sign a new one. Cannot afford that so need to decide to cash in or not??

The first game is apon us now, Darlington away and i expect no more transfer activity unless i sell Bobbins.

A nice start to the season for us! The opening game was tough and a draw would have been fair for both clubs but that man again, Bobbins strikes from 15 yards just two mins after the hosts missed a penalty. Bobbins was the main man in the league with five in the two wins over Crawley and Shrewsbury. The defeat to Oldham was harsh, we really got hit by three counter attacks.

The League Cup brought at fantastic win over Championship side Preston. Twice behind before snatching a 90th leveller to go into extra time. Once again we fall behind but show desire to level in the 102nd minute. Penalties came with a 3-1 win. We missed one of four while Preston failed win three of their four attempts. A trip to Premier League side Blackpool was the reward but a close first half (1-0 down) was shattered by a stunning second half by 'The Tangerines'. The final result was a little harsh but we were never going to win the cup.

The Johnstones Paint Throphy brought a trip to League One Bristol Rovers. On a scale of 1 to 10 on how important this game was i would score it 1. No interest in the competition this season. It was already game number eight in twenty four days following a long pre season so i changed the team around. Eight of the starting eleven had onyl made sub apps for the first team this season. A deserved defeat, behind early and conceding two late on gave it a more comfortable look.

Free scoring Tommy Bobbins picked up the Player of Month award with nine in five league games and another in two cup games. It leaves him on 94 league goals, closing in on record scorer Darren Collins 113.

Fellow forward Richard Roach has been performing well, he just needs to add to his one goal scored against Oldham. The flip side Wes Brightwell has had a tough start at left back, maybe the step into the Football League is a little too much for him.

September brings six games including trips to local rivals Northampton and 'shock of the season' side Millwall. I say this as they have lost all their games so far and side bottom of the Football League. We also face 23rd place York while a home game vs 2nd Southend should bring a decent crowd into AFC Rushden Stadium.

A month where we could concentrate fully on league duty and a tight month it proved. Two wins, a difficult away win to a side sitting 23rd (the winning goal turned out to be Goal of the Month) was quickly followed by a thumping win ovet then third placed Southend. Two early goals in the first half helped us out and a third early in the second killed the game off. Our only defeat came at home, again, in a game where scoring machine Bobbins was out with a thigh injury. Not much to say about the two 0-0 games and the month ended with an entertaining game against an improving Millwall. Early Bobbins goal set us up well but two defensive slips left them back in before Louis Piper for the second time in September popped up late on.

Off the pitch by far the biggest movement was Tommy Bobbins agreeing a new three year deal worth £1,600 pw. After asking for £3,400 i kept up the pressure and with a minimum fee release, match highest earner and wage rise after int apps he finally agreed. Geat news all round there. We are currently 17th in the 'salary per annum' list.

Transfer wise defender Calum Bennett has asked to leave of which im happy to let him. Currently fourth choice in the CB position he will be easily replaced. Third choice keeper McCarthy, who played in the JPT defeat has joined BSBP side AFC Wimbledon for a month.

October starts with a massive home game against leaders Hereford. After that we have five more games, only two away, featuring 5th placed Cambridge and 23rd place Rotherham.

Well October was a bit like eating a sandwich with your favourite filling, but both bits of bread are stale. First up we had the top of table clash with Hereford in which we blew a 2-0 lead and were forced to settle for a point. The second part of the bread was a woeful defeat away to Cambridge. We struggled to put two passed together in that one. But the filling was great, four wins, eight goals, none conceded. A good month for Roach and my star midfielder Gary Halford have helped us into a good position coming into the winter months.

FA Cup

Should be a nice chance to get through to Round 2. Currently 15th in BSBS although have beaten a fellow BSBS side and BSBP side Farnborough to get this far.

October brought a personal award for myself with the 'Manager of the Month' award and Gary Halford was runner up in both 'Player of the Month' and 'Young Player of the Month'. Halfords srike against Hereford also got him third in 'Goal of the Month'. Finally on that front our keeper on loan at AFC Wimbledon came third in 'Young Player of the Month'

During our run of wins in October the press got a little bored and decided i was the front runner for two jobs in League 1.

22nd place Barnsley and 14th placed Swindon while also linking me with Championship side Sunderland currently sitting in 15th.

I denied interest in the first two but with Sunderland i just remained silent. If they want me, they best put an offer on the table.

Novmeber brings the FA Cup but also league games with the sides in 18th and 24th.

Not a great month in the league sadly but we have stayed in second place so all is not lost. We are playing ok just unable to find the target enough. Im sure its just a small blip and the wins will come again soon.

FA Cup

A good little run is occuring now. Comfortable away win to non league side was followed up by a tight affair against League Two rivals Crawley. Our one and onyl shot on target came after just 35 seconds but that was enough to put us in the 3rd round where another divisional rival awaits.

It has been a busy month on the transfer front with Bolton bidding for two of my players. The side are looking to strengthen their promotion bid as they are currently fifth in the Championship.
The first bid was for striker Richard Roach. £750,000 was offered but i managed to better the deal to £1m upfront and a 50% sell on fee. Not bad business for an 18 year old with just fourteen football league starts.
This time i noticed Bolton were interested in my left winger Jon Evans and guessing they had money to spend i offered him to them for £2.5m. They came back with an offer of £400,000 upfront, another £1m over 24 months and a 45% sell on fee. Accepting that offer means over the next two years 60% of my weekly wage will be covered by this one transfer. That opens the door to me maybe being able to hold on to one or two more players than originally thought.

December brings five league games with third place Darlington the only side currently in the top fourteen. A good month here will set us up nicely for the second half of the season.

None of the three jobs from last month came to anything, although im not too disappointed. I had a small interest in Sunderland but would not have entertained the other two.
As for the two clubs chasing me in the summer, West Brom are sixth in the Championship. Alan Pardew was the man they opted for but he lasted until November when sacked and replaced by Craig Levein.Middlesborough are down in 15th in League One and have also sacked the man who took the job after my rejection. Andy Ritchie lasted five months and now Richard Money is the man at the helm.
Looks like i made the right choice with both chairmen showing little patience.

A bit of an up and down month, two wins when playing poorly, a draw where we missed a late penalty and the defeat Port Vale was our best overall performance. Footballs a crazy game. Our last game of the month against Darlington was postponed due to snow.

With two players leaving for Bolton i have brought two of my u-18 players up to replace them. Forward Martin Birch has hit two goals in five games while winger Aaron Smedley has hit one in three. Looking good for cheap replacements there.

Going into January we really need to find our shooting boots again with the FA Cup 3rd round and league matches against playoff chasing Darlington and Stevenage.

An inconsistant month really. In each and every game we look like getting nothing, even when winning 4-0! We seem to be lacking some creativity in the middle and the goal drought of Tommy Bobbins is not helping. Overall though happy with the three wins this month and hope it continues until the end of the season.

FA Cup

Enough said.

With the sale of the two players to Bolton it not means we have the lowest wage spend in the league which makes our run to the automatic promotion places even better. The transfer window came and went, three offers rejected for players so rather than waste money on others i am looking to bring in a couple of loans over the next four weeks.

Once again the press link me with a move away and again i deny any interest in the job at League One strugglers Crystal Palace.

The next month brings another five games featuring local rivals Northampton and the teams in 5th, 6th and 7th. This really will set us up one way or another, a good month should mean the top three places are well in reach while a bad month will bring us into a battle with upto seven other sides battling for a play-off spot.

A month with not much entertainment but four wins from five moves us to the top of League 2. Fantastic work by my young squad. Tommy Bobbins ended his 16 hour goal drought and we beat rivals Northampton too! Really uspet with the defeat though, at home to 23rd place York. Should have won.

Despite the defeat i won 'Manager of the Month' which is nice. The 14th of my 2066 days with AFC R&DFC

March brings three home games and three away games. We play both 2nd and 3rd but to even it out we host 22nd and 24th. It seems im saying this every month but its really a huge month. Nine points clear of fourth could easily be 16 points by April or just two!

Another decent month puts us within touching distance of League One. Although we lost to Hereford we were helped by third place Cambridge beating them with us in turn beating Cambridge.
Tommy Bobbins has hit top form once again and helped by youngster Walton who has hit five in his last two.

April will be tough as we close in in the end of season. Only one game is against a team in top 13 so its totally in our own hands.

After a long season we have once again over achieved. As with the last few months we have been consistant without running away with things. We went into the last game of season knowing a draw would give us our sixth successive title. League One will be a totally different challenge and i need to consider my squad. I have made hardly any signings over last three years but will that policy be enough to keep us in League One?

Again i seem linked to job after job and Premier League bottom club Sheffield Wednesday are the next to be linked with my name. I stayed silent on the matter but they went for Alan Pardew instead.

The way we have stayed competitive is by keeping the squad mostly the same but knowing one or two players will need to be sold on and this summer will have to be the same. Whether i can keep Tommy Bobbins remains to be seen but with him just five goals away from a club record i hope he stays. No clubs have made a firm bid for any of my players but i cannot resist all.

Once again the ground is have a little expansion, 1,200 standing spaces are to be created which will help the money coming in but we will have to manage our wage budget to a low level again. Im just hoping the board and fans do not expect too much next season.

First up, the summer. Last season i had my team playing seven friendlies and it backfired as in the first two months of the season my players were all in need of a rest. This time round i played just two, one win and one defeat plus a couple of matches against my u-18's.

As for transfers one player was released, Alan Russell who at the age of 20 had not made a senior appearence for us. The only other player leaving was loanee Ross Gosling. I tried to re-sign him but Middlesboroughhave promoted him to the first team.

Only one player has joined, to re-place Gosling, and that is Brighton's 20 year old Phil Stephenson.

The League season started well. Third place and unbeaten! A tough draw with Exeter was followed by a fantastic second half against Wycombe which saw us come from 1-0 down to win 3-1. A bit of a derby at home to Luton was edgy but an early goal settled it. Away to Dagenham i was confident as they have started badly and once again our away form shines bright.

The only blip was a defeat away to Championship side Rochdale in the League Cup. Never mind.

The club are expecting us to finish around mid table, which im more than happy with and the media have us as 14th. On the wage front only Cambridge are spending less. I am happy with the budget but i cant spend even close to it as we are currently £1.2m in debt. Its mainly come from ground expansion which we need so its a double edged sword really.

September brings Barnsley and Doncaster to AFC Rushden Stadium while our fans get long trips to Plymouth and Carlisle.

Well what can i say. The month started with us giving away a last gasp leveller to Barnsley then defeat after leading to Carlisle. Things improved to smash Wrexham and winning away to then leaders Plymouth sent me into a spin! It was all about Tommy Bobbins in the Oxford match as you will see shortly before an all round team performance left Doncaster manager Tommy Jaszczun picking up his p45 within twenty four hours.

Back to Bobbins and the second of his goals against Oxford brought the crowd to the feet for a different reason

Brilliant for a lad who is just twenty. Thats now 114 league goals in 176 league games. Fantastic.

The start to this season has amazed me and im really wondering now how far we can go. The happy Rushden fan in me says all the way, we will win the lot. But the realist in me knows that the money will not support us in the Championship.
A job has just come up in League One, Swansea. Currently spending a stupidly high £13m per annum on wages (more than the sides second, third and fourth combined) and down in 21st. What a challenge. A side that has slide from the Prem to league One, still throwing cash about it seems. Must say im tempted to apply.

Another month where we make ourselves very hard to beat. We started with a dull draw then an entertaining draw where we needed a late strike to get a point. Two more similar games where both sides deserved something but some cool finishing and great goalkeeping sent us into the Coventry game nicely clear. That game flew by, alot of good short passing gave Coventry no hope really and we wore them down to end October four clear.

We travelled to Doncaster in the JPT and i made eleven changes to the side. Only Brightwell had started a league game this year and depsite going one down we fight back well and complete an easy away win. Hull at home await.

I decided against going for the Swansea job, i have a great job here and cant walk away - yet.

Novmeber has us against Hull in JPT and we will enter the FA Cup also. In the league play-off chasing Bournemouth and Preston are two of our three fixtures.

Another top month all round. The league saw us beat the two play-off chasers and draw the other. In the cups a second string side did for Hull, although blowing a 2-0 lead in the process. The FA Cup saw off league rivals Hereford with Steve Gibbons scoring on his professional debut. Up next is BSBP side Tonbridge in the FA Cup and League Two Bury in JPT.

The cash flow will see a boost on Jan 1st as defender Neil McIlwain joins Norwich for £2.5m. A player who has been with me since the United Counties League it will be sad to say bye but 194 league games later he deserves his chance elsewhere.

My stock continues to rise in the press with mid table Prem side Aston Villa the latest to have my name linked. Unsuprisingly nothing came of it.

December brings seven games, five in the league, including Hull, Swansea and Middlesborough. Hopefully it will be a happy christmas for us and our march to the Championship continues.

This was always going to be a tough time of the year. Lots of league games, cup matches too, transfer window opening and i already knew one of my brilliant back four was going. The two months brought around some inconsistancy but we still are tough to beat. Only one game did we totally dominate and should have won by more and there were scrappy results against Luton and Chesterfield. On the defeat front, Exeter needed two penalties to get past us although we could have played for a month and not scored. There lies the problem, Tommy Bobbins cannot socre in the league at the moment. Just one in ten is putting pressure on the rest.

The cup has been a welcome distraction for us and Bobbins too, who has hit two cup goals recently. The FA Cup saw an awful display against Tonbridge, then an even worse one in the replay where we missed a pen, had a man sent-off and needed two goals from a centre back to get through. Our reward was Prem side Newcastle coming to us. 4-3 score looks like a fantastic tie but we were never in and scored two in last five mins to get back from 4-1 down.
The JPT is giving us hope of a day out at Wembley. A penalty shootout win at League 2 Bury put us in the Northern Final against Middlesborough. We are joint top of the league so it was always going to be tough but a 1-1 away in the first leg gives us hope for the second leg in Feb.

On the transfer front we new McIlwain was going but offers for two more of my prized back four means we are in a re-building phase. West Brom came in for centre back Sam Kearns. A fee rising to maybe £2.4m was something i cannot reject and off he went to the Premier League. Just a day later Championship side Bolton offered £1.7m for left back Jason Gibbons. At just 19 he had clocked up 111 league games for us but being out of contract in the summer meant the offer had to be accepted. It means our back line has three youth teamers in it but its worked for me in the last six years so why change now. This could blow our hopes of promotion but the club now has £2m sitting in the bank which is more important at the moment. If we went up we would need to stick with youth so im willing to risk it.

The more the season goes on the more im thinking of walking away in the summer. I cant see how the club can substain a Championship side with a stadium that holds 6,000 and we struggle to stay afloat with a weekly wage budget of £20,000. Swansea have five players earning that a week in their current League One squad.

As expected the sale of my three defenders in January has led to a slump in form. Goals are not flying as they have been and i have taken the choice to bring through five of my younger players to give them experience of the last few games. This should help us for next season. If we can pick up form we are still in a great position to go up but i really feel we are not strong enough defensively.

A trip to Wembley is coming up against League 2 side Gillingham. A great day out for the fans and the players with hope of a trophy. The club has never been to Wembley before so this is another first on our journey together.

My aim for rest of season is to try and get the 2nd spot in League One but also work on a plan for next season. I want to have a squad ready to roll as soon as the current season finishes. Youth will get a chance as i have a couple of players i have hopes for. More about them later.

It went down to the final game, at home to champions Middlesborough, a win and we were up. 1-0 Rushden, 1-1, 2-1 Rushden, 2-2, all i was thinking was we would lose then three subs, two scored then top scorer Bobbins pounced to end this amazing season.

Next season is all about one thing, staying up.

I have broken the clubs transfer record by re-signing left winger Jon Evans from Bolton. We sold him for £1.4m back in January 2017 and have got him back for £275,000. Even better is Bolton still owe £55k a month for next six months so we have signed him for free really. Fantastic.

Im looking for maybe two or three more players but cash is still very tight.

Due to league regulations we have to make our stadium all seater meaning for the next 9 months we will be going to ground share with Kettering Town, at Nene Park. I cannot believe it. Rushden and Diamonds die, our rivals move into our home, we start again, the lowest league possible and end up asking Kettering Town for use of what was our home. Its a sad day. These nine months cant go quick enough.

That squad of players is made up of ten players that have come through the youth system. The one who didn't was Louis Piper who has come from Portsmouth for £3.5k. Jon Evans left for Bolton but that has not worked out so he is back, with a point to prove to others.

Not difficult to see where our problems are so far this season. Starting the season i lost both left wingers in pre season so record signing Jon Evans is expected out until October and Aaron Smedley until Christmas.

My main strike force has been as unsettled as Tommy Bobbins is out with a torn hamstring for 3 months and Jonathan Walton serving a three match ban for an early red card againstPortsmouth. Then my third choice forward Kieran Spencer had attracted interest from Tottenham and a deal worth £2.475m with a 50% sell on was agreed.

Results wise we were outplayed in the opening two league games and was very happy with a double 0-0 result. A shock defeat to League 2 Torquay was not all important as league survival is our aim. Against Brighton we were well in it for an hour but two goals in five minutes ended our hopes there. The worst display was Norwich. Three down at the break we were never in the game.

Points and goals are needed quickly and with Crystal Palace away and Leicester at home next it could be tough...

A much better month of the results and goals front, but not injuries. We are picking up so many injuries at the moment i have stopped training. Yeah thats right, no players are training at the moment while i give players a chance to recover.

Back to the results, a penalty award with just two minutes left gave us our first Championship win over Leicester and the momentum continued at home with a battling point over Sheffield United and a brilliant win over Sunderland. For the Utd game we had a newe forward playing. With all the injuries i have been looking at three or four players and the one i chose agreed a deal until the end of the season. £2,000 pw for a twenty year old who scored 70 goals in 140 games for VFK Zalgiris Vilnius in Lithuania, Aivaras Budrys. But to fit with our season n debut he sprained an ankle and is out for seven weeks.

October brings five games where Nene Park wlecomes West Ham and Birmingham while trips to Middlesborough and Reading look winnable.

In other news, following the World Cup England boss Eddie Howe stepped down to be re-placed by u-21 manager Stuart Pearce. Two weeks followed and the new u-21 boss was revealed to be Eddie Howe....hmmm....

A fantastic start to the month, 1-0 down and down to ten men then step forward Walton. A perfect treble (header, left foot and right foot). More importantly it was a victory against a side battling towards the bottom. The next two we were off colour, well behind when scoring our single goals and heading into the Birmingham game i was worried. No need to be as we tore them apart. Goals early in each half helped and we knew that the pressure was off against Reading. Defeat ended the month but November gives us hope as we face two of the bottom three, both at home.

The injuries are clearing now with Bobbins, Smedley and Metcalfe all due back shortly. On the money side we sit with £3,000,000 in the bank and by far the lowest wage spend in the league. (£1.85m per annum compared to Rochdale £4.74m, Huddersfield £10.9m and Leicester £22.69m). Hopefully when January comes i wont have to offload a couple of top players as normal.

A month where i was expecting two home wins and tow away defeats. To stay in this league i need to get points from teams around me and games where im against play-off chasers are bonus games. This went against us with a draw to bottom club Huddersfield then a thumping defeat to Bolton sunk morale. Going to sixth placed Blackpool was going to be tough and the players reacted amazingly to clinch a 1-0 win. We ended with a much needed win with our only effort on target against Rochdale. Well deserved for Piper as he has been one of our best players so far. Tommy Bobbins returned to play the last 15 mins of that game.

My name has been linked with three jobs in the Championship this month, Watford, Birmingham and Crystal Palace.

Just the boost we needed. Nine points from twelve in the league leave us a massive 14 points from the bottom three and only six from the play-offs. I am not for a second hinting at a top 6 finish but we are looking great for survival.

The FA Cup brings us a good win over league rivals Preston and the reward is a trip to Premier League big boys Tottenham.

Bump back down to earth. Only one point from four games has dropped us down the table but happily still 12 points from the bottom three with a game in hand. I have no problem finishing 21st at all.

The FA Cup has brought us good exposure and good money also. A trip to Spurs gave us a great win. Four goals against a top team! The draw gave us Premier side Blackburn away and despite getting played off the park we struck two late goals to come back from 3-1 down to earn a replay at Nene Park.

Another month of mixed results. A fantastic home win against promotion chasing West Ham United, Aaron Smedley striking an 89th minute winner. Both the Birmingham and Huddersfield games saw us leading at the break then collasping. We were lucky Birmingham only scored two. The home defeat to Reading was our first game back at our own stadium and a sell out crowd of 6,000 were left deflated. We ended the month with a thumping win against the bottom club. Tommy Bobbins is starting to show his deadly form that has been missing for the most part.

The FA Cup is over for another year but we have been great. A tight home defeat in front of tv cameras was a deserved result but we have taken two Prem clubs all the way during this poor league run.

The final month of the season sees us safe in my eyes. Huddersfield are 13 points adrift with only 18 points to play for and a worse GD. Will look to blood a couple of youth players to see if they are good enough for next year. Its a good job we are safe as our last seven games are against six of the top seven and then 11th place! Tough run in...

The trouble is on these data updates the lower non league levels are all quite similar so easy to go up, I personally found it harder than Kris. I had 2 years in BSN, 3 years in BSP and 3 years in Championship.

Well done on staying up, the FA Cup run will have done your finances wonders! Good luck for next season

The trouble is on these data updates the lower non league levels are all quite similar so easy to go up, I personally found it harder than Kris. I had 2 years in BSN, 3 years in BSP and 3 years in Championship.

Well done on staying up, the FA Cup run will have done your finances wonders! Good luck for next season

Fair enough at the lower levels, but Kris got all the way to the Championship in consecutive seasons, even winning the league every time.

Don't mean to be picky but i didn't win league 1, came second behind Middlesborough

I never expected to get straight throuh to the Championship but i have played from the United Counties League before and got straight through to the BSBP with Irchester and crowds of 110 every week. In those leagues you only need one good forward to score the goals and one good winger with around 20 assists and thats it.

As for BSBP and League 2 that is where i play most of saves so i feel i can get promoted with any club in any given season.

I'm as dismayed as any that i got straight out of league one. In January i sold three of my starting back four and went with youth but the momentum we had at the start of the season carried us through.

Starting the save my club had zero players so i had to chop and change i signed over 30 players that season. Since then i have signed just 9 players, and three of those were loans. I have been able to do this because i have filled my squad with very young players and they have come on together. That helps so so much in this game.

My squad for this season features:

1 x 23 year old (230 lge apps for me)
4 x 22 year old (659 lge apps for me)
2 x 21 year old (217 lge apps for me)
1 x 19 year old (95 lge apps for me)
3 x 18 year old (77 lge apps for me)
4 x 17 year old (91 lge apps for me)
4 x 16 year old (3 lge apps for me)

My squad is full of players with high work rate and teamwork too, would rather that than speed, composure or finishing.

The summer saw no plyers join but three youngsters have come up from the reserve and u-18's. On the sale front my main transfer out was winger Jon Evans. For the second time i have off-loaded him for a decent fee (£875k to Nott'm Forest). Despite a good first season back with us last year his attitude is poor so took the chance to make another profit from him. Also leaving is number two keeper Colm Sinnott. At the age of 22 he has been with the club since 2013 but made just five league apps. For this we allowed him to leave for Brighton for £20k plus clauses. Twelve other players were released as the contracts expired.

The season started with a solid win over a poor Sunderland team. Three seasons on the Championship have seen them finish no higher than 11th and to be honest i am hoping Nigel Clough gets the boot as i would be interested in re-building them from top to bottom. Second half goals from Mulholland and 16 year old debutant Sutton means we hit the ground running.

The next two league games were tight matches with both ending in draws. QPR struck with just four minutes left to deny us while a stupid penalty gave away let Brighton back in the game.

A trip to the seaside was next and Blackpool were blew away with three goals in each half. A brillliant treble from Bobbins and a brace from last years top scorer Walton helped us to our biggest win since my first season in the United Counties League.

The month ended with last seasons beaten play-off semi-finalists Sheff Wed coming to the AFC Rushden Stadium. Seven points from twelve gave the owls hope of victory but second half goals from left winger Smedley and highly rated right back Shaun Mutch sealed the win.

The League Cup saw us exit after two games, without scoring a single goal. (the last time we scored in the League Cup was in August 2016) After being taken to pens against League 2 Millwall and winning 4-2 we hosted league rivals Leeds who struck deep into extra time to put us out.

After the good start i finished behind Kolo Toure and John Barnes in the Manager of the Month award whilst forward Jonathan Walton came second in the Young Player of the Month.

September started with a great performance from my midfield and attack away to Birimgham but thanks to an off day by my back four we were beaten 2-1. We followed that up with a close run defeat to league leaders Fulham. Former Bayern forward Dale Jennings with the only goal.

A trip to The Valley brought a real treat for fans as we led 1-0 at half time but whatever Tal Ben-Haim said during the break worked with Charlton scoring three before the 65th minute, the third coming from former Northampton winger Micheal Jacobs. Then the fightback started and captain Gary Halford pulled one back before Bernard Asante hit the third in the 89th minute.

So just one point from nine brings the end of September but we are still nicely placed.

We started off well winning at Portsmouth with two second half goals. Our midfield played very well and restricted Pompey to very few chances. Former Portsmouth winger Piper scored our second and picked up man of the match.

Then the draws started, first with Norwich at home. A very defensive display from Alex McLeish side didnt help our game and between the sides only one shot was on target. Away to Watford brought around some goal action and Tommy Bobbins was on hand to score the second for us from all of one yard. Cracking strike.

A third straight draw was the most frustrating. Leading struggling Scunthorpe through Tommy Bobbins we were looking good for three points when the fourth official put the board up signalling 3 added minutes. In the 8th, yeah 8th minute of added time Marc Lake struck for Scunny. Gutted.

Our month ended with another dull draw, away to Crystal Palace. Very little action at either end.

This is where my problems lie. Last seasons top scorer Walton has struck just twice this season, both in the 6-0 win over Blackpool. But his overall performances give him an average rating of 7.24, bettered only by Louis Piper in my squad, and he is the 20th best player in the league this season. Dilemma.

In other news former captain Adam Fray, who was sold to Norwich in 2016 and since moved to Prem side West Brom, was called into the England squad for the first time.

First league game of month started well, one up. Then two goals either side of the break put us in trouble before we missed chance to level from the spot (Rogan Sutton with the miss). Eventually we did get level, 93 minutes in from Bobbins. Good point in the end.

After taking an early lead away to Sheff Wed i expected us to win but again we chucked it away ourselves. Player of the season so far, keeper Clive Baldwin, scored a comical o.g just before the break. The second half was awful all round, one shot each. Another fair result i guess.

The month ended with Blackpool at home. After stuffing them 6-0 earlier in the season was full of hope but nope......You can see the result, enough said.

The other game this month was the FA Cup defeat to Prem side West Ham. A decent performance from us but they had the edge up front. No shame in the result and the £140,000 TV money was good!

The transfer window brought a small amount of business for us. It started with a sale, promising forward Jonathan Walton was subject of a £2.1m plus clauses from Stoke City. My intention was to reject the offer but he is out of contract in 18 months and wants £10k pw to sign a new one. I cannot afford that so i accepted. Off he goes to the Premier League where he has scored in each of first two games (vs Man City and Liverpool).

To replace him i have turned the clock back ten years and brought back a former player of Rushden and Diamonds. Lee Tomlin. He has joined on loan from West ham until the end of the season.

All season we have sold out our stadium, 6558, and i attempted to ask for an expansion but sadly i have been informed that we have reached our limit with this stadium. Im totally gutted as i have another 14 years before another stadium can be built. What can i do. Its going to be tough keeping a competitive Championship side with such small imcomings.

Other news former captain Adam Fray has moved on once again, this time a £7.75m move to Liverpool from West Brom. Brilliant.

A pleasing season all round really. Off the field the finances are looking good as we have sold players and replaced them with other squad members and with having by far the lowest wage spend in the league but still competing is great.

On the field i am overjoyed with 11th place. Yeah the first half of the season was great and we were in or around the playoffs but survival is the main aim.
Results Feb to May

Highlights:

5-2 win away at Plymouth3-0 at home to Crystal PalaceLowlights:

5-1 home defeat to Wrexham

We lost 6 other games in the run in and all of them were by just one goal so other than the Wrexham game we have competitive. The season was full of draws which gives us heart that maybe will can go even better next year.

At the end of the season Championsip play-off winners Norwich lost manager Alex McLeish to West Ham and i was offered the chance to manage in the Premier League. Tempting as i was i rejected.

Stuart Pearce left the role of England manager following a 2nd round defeat to Russia in the World Cup. The replacement is Steve Eyre, the former Rochdale, Blackpool, Liverpool and Ipswich manager.

It has been a busy-ish summer at the AFC Rushden Stadium with two players joining and eight players leaving the club.
Departures:

Seven players left the club once their contracts had expired this summer. Six of those had not featured in the first team at all but one first teamer Billy Metcalfe, who made 107 league apps, had joined League One side Crawley.

One player has been sold and that is 19 year old prospect Brendan Bailey. He had made 38 league apps but during last season started to demand more and more first team football so it was decided to cash in as i felt i had better centre midfielders. I certainly think he could go on to a good player though. Premier League side Fulham paid £2.7m for his services.

Arrivals:

Two players have come in, one on a free and one cost £150k. The freebie was Italian midfielder Raffaele Trovo. A 20 year old had been with Parma for three years before being released in the summer. He can play across the midfield which is a plus for us. A regular in the Italy U-21 squad with 25 apps and 16 goals. Certainly expecting big things from him.

The second player to come in is an old face that i have signed before. For the second half of last season my left wingers did not give me enough and i started to regret the sale of Jon Evans to Nott'm Forest despite him seeming to have an attitude problem. After selling him for £875k with a 50% sell on fee i was staggered to be offered him back by Forest for just £150k of which we would get £75,000 of it straight back. I could not say no to that offer so Evans is back for a third spell with us.

Not the best of starts at all. Goals are tough to come by. I will brush quickly over the League Cup as we lost on pens to League 2 side Dagenham. That after they were hammered 3-0 by Millwall on the opening day...

In the league we started with a spirted draw at home to West Ham, fresh from Premier League relegation. A 16th minute header from Robbie Cotton was enough. Next up was a trip to Wrexham where we never really got going. Two down at the break sub defender Luke Bancroft pulled one back with 12 to play but a draw never seemed likely.

The next three all ended in draws, Against Brighton nothing happend to any side really. No goals, no cards and no subs. The draw with Derby on paper looks good but there were bottom and had not scored so disappointed with only a point. The month ended with Sheff Wed, also struggling. We took a deserved lead but a brace from Graeme Kelly looked to have beat us before a late leveller from captain Gary Halford at least kept us out of the bottom three for now.

A nice little month completed there. Unbeaten and found the back of the net a few times. A change in player positions has been the difference.

The month started with high flying Leeds hosting us and i have to say im gutted to have only got a point. Christian Lewis put us ahead just after the half hour and we held that lead until the 91st minute when Isacc Hayden smashed in a 25 yarder.

We had to pick ourselves up for a tough home match with Blackpool. In the previous six matches with them there has been 26 goals so i expected a few more today and thats what there was. I changed the midfield around and rested Jon Evans and played Raffa out on the left wing as opposed to the centre as he had been playing until then. What a stroke of luck as my classy Italian hit a hatrick to see off the seaside team. Two first half strikes then one straight after the break put us in control before Blackpool got one back in the 60th mimute.

A long trip to Middlesborough came next and the home side raced into 2-0 half time lead. On the hour Raffa played a one two with Innes and slid the ball into the next. With 17 mins left centre back Martin Bowyer headed in a Raffa free kick at the far post and thats how it stayed until the 90th minute. Left back Beddard played a ball down the wing and Raffa crossed for Andy Innes to blast home on the half volley. A great comeback.

The month ended with a dull draw away to Charlton. It was dull for the home side mainly as they had just 8 shots, 1 on target compared to our 21 shots, 7 on target. It seems the efforts of the last two games had taken out of my side so changes maybe coming to the line up over the next few weeks.

Raffa Trovo ended the month with the Player of the Month award and Lewis' strike against Leeds was third in Goal of Month.

October started the same as normal with us at the moment, a draw. After taking the lead against high flying Cardiff we were pegged back through a Billy Tonge penalty. Overall it was a fair point in an even game and i suppose drawing with one of the bigger sides in the league should be looked at as a good result.

Next up was a trip to leaders Stoke where the difference between the sides was one make, former AFC Rushden and Dimonds forward Jonathan Walton. His two goals in the second half sealed a comfortable win for Stoke. Our second was scored by 17 year old forward Allan Lee, his first professional goal.

Just to add to the game we copped a fine from the FA for six bookings.

After such a goalscoring treat the fans were to be disappointed with just the one goal away at Bolton. The goal came with 17 minutes left from Boltons young sub defender Darren Stephens.

Looking for three point in the next home game against Leicester, a side i have rejected the chance to take over at. Could this game be as good as the Portsmouth game? Yes indeed.

Young midfielder Steven Breen, making his debut for me, struck after just eight minutes with a curling effort just inside the box. Tommy Bobbins then struck twice before half time although Leicester got one back inbetween. Just after the break Leicester scored agian, 3-2, from the penaty spot before further goals from Lewis and Halford put the game to bed. There was time in stoppage time for Leicester to score another through Saido Berahino.

Thats two homes games, ten scored, eight conceded.

During this month i have deny interest in Nottm Forest, Sheff Wed and Derby jobs.

We its nice to remain unbeaten during the month but yet again draws are ruining our season. Three more see us stuck right in the middle, going nowhere.

We started November well with a huge away to Birmingham. After falling behind to a 7th minute penalty we came back well with Piper heading in from a Lee cross and then man of the match Bowyer scored from 18 yards after a short free kick from Raffa. Just after the break Bobbins scored from a counter attack (think Man Utd's second against Wolves) before the game was settled by an o.g. Alan Lee completed the scoring with a free run from the half way line after another quick counter attack.

Following that great win we then struggle to a home draw against bottom club Rochdale. Luke Bancroft with the leveller for us from another Raffa free-kick. That was followed by another home draw, this time more exciting. After falling behind early on we fought back through Bobbins and a Raffa penalty. But we couldnt hold on and let Nottm Forest level before Bobbins struck again and we held that lead until the 88th minute when Zalan Horvath scored his second for Forest.

We ended the month with a credible away draw to Sheffield United but at a cost. Right back Bernard Asante suffered a broken ankle and is out for four months ruling him out of Ghana's African Nations squad.

After the draws of last month we needed to pick up points and 11 from 18 is not too bad at all.

It started so well with a comfortable win over Scunthorpe and an equally easy win against Huddersfield. The trip to Plymouth needed a second half leveller from Bobbins. A typical FIFA goal, running along the edge of the box and shooting into the opposite side.

Bobbins again was the second half hero with a 79th minute winner, a reverse pass from Piper, two touch, lob over the keeper. Leading 1-0 away to Morecambe when Martin Bowyer was sent off. Within 6 minutes we were behind, the second being a 30 yard screamer. The month ended with a lucky draw at West Ham, Lewis on hand to score in the 92nd minute. Following the game West Ham sacked Alex McLeish and then i was offered the job. I rejected and the job went to Jim Bentley of Morecambe.

The FA Cup gies us a home tie with League Two high fliers Chesterfield. Win expected.

A nice start to 2021 with three wins from three in the Championship. It could have been better but two home fixtures were postponed due to the weather but our league position is still good.

The league month started with a an easy away win to Brighton, both goals coming in the first half then a trip to Hillsborough saw us race into a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes. The second half was all about defending and for the last 5 minutes our formation was 6-4-0 (one of the four was in the DM position). I can honestly say thats the first time in ten years at Rushden i have played that formation.

The month ended with with a second half turn around against Derby. One down at the break apparently my team talk inspired my players and three goals set us up nicely for February

The FA Cup gave us a comfortable home win over League Two leaders Chesterfield before the draw gave us a trip to Blue Square Bet South leaders Dover. On paper an easy tie but Dover have put out BSBP side Lewes, League Two sides Stevenage and Millwall along with Championship side Blackpool in this years FA Cup. A goaless draw ended as a poor result as we battered them 21 shots to 1, 7 on target to 0, we hit the woodwork twice and 60-40 possession. If we win the replay the reward is a home tie with Premier League Ipswich.

The transfer window has seen a little activity from us, sadly.

Leaving the club was captain Gary Halford. The 23 year old leaves for Portugese Super Liga side Braga for £1.9m plus clauses. Its a shame to lose him but he wanted to go to a bigger club and after 249 league apps and 26 goals with 30 assists i could not stand in his way.

Second choice left back Wes Beddard has joined Premier League side Bristol City in a £700,000 deal. He has featured 33 times in the first team but i really didnt see him having a great future with us although i was hoping to keep him until the summer.

Unsuprisingly the final transfer out of the club was serial leaver/arriver Jon Evans. Following the performance of youngster Breen in CM i moved Italian Raffa to the wing and after just seven games Evans decided he wanted out as he was mainly a sub. This time Blackpool decided to take a punt on him and paid £170,000 plus clauses. Overall the 24 year old has brought in the best part of £2.5m for us while i have shelled out around £425,000 bringing him back to the club. I still think he can be a good player for a good side but never settles.

Coming into the club is a youngster on loan from Arsenal, forward Elliot Hole for a month and a back up left back Rory Doyle. The 23 year old comes on a free from Reading until the summer and has previously been with Sheff Wed, Leyton O and Peterborough.

An inconsistant month overall which started poorly against Leeds. An even, dull game until the 87th minute when Will Grigg scrambled the ball home from six yards. Not to be too upset we moved on to Blackpool away and turned being 1-0 down to 2-1 up. Within a minute of the second Blackpool levelled up. A draw looked the likely result until the 94th minute when Bobbins volleyed in from the penalty spot.

We followed that up with a poor home draw with Middlesborough. Neither side had a shot on target...Enough said. The month ended on a high with a victory over high flying, League Cup runners up Stoke. Two up at the break and cruising, Stoke got one back before top scorer Bobbins sealed the result in the 74th minute.

Well the FA Cup replay with Dover started badly, a red card for midlfielder Breen after 3 minutes, and got worse. Dover scored after five minutes and at the break we had not had a single shot. I made three changes at the break and within 54 seconds Jody Ridley was left unmarked from a free kick to head home. Now just the league to concentrate on.

Towards the end of the month Bolton (4th in Championship) lost manager Karl Robinson to Huddersfield (22nd in Championship) and i was again linked with the role. I stayed silent and six days later the offer came for me to move to the Reebok Stadium. I politley asked for time to think this over, the time i asked for was until the summer and it was agreed. I now have until the end of May to decide...Hmmm...

Yet another inconsistant month from us but we given ourselves a little sniff at a play-off push.

March was a busy month starting with with a win when we should have lost (vs Wrexham) and a loss when we should have won (vs Portsmouth). A game littered with mistakes and yellow cards followed against Bolton but we shaded the game and its given everyone a lift as Bolton were placed 4th at the time.

Defeat to Leicester followed and a poor goal keeping display cost us a deserved point. I hope it doesnt prove too costly by the end of the season. We entertained Charlton next and played them off the park. I think it was the best performance of the season and im really thinking the play-offs can be reached.

Then the dream turns sour a little with two points from three games to end March. One Bobbins strike is all we have to show and im regretting not bringing in a loan forward to see us through.

After the poor end to March i knew any play-off hopes would need a minimum of five wins from seven. Some how we managed six wins and now have drawn Leicester in the semi's.

The month started brilliantly, five wins, twelve goals, none conceded. I could not even pick out one player for special praise as they all performed great. Going into the Sunderland away game we needed a point to seure playoff place but depsite losing we had done enough. The final game was a dead rubber but the lads played well, just a lapse in concentration in the 89th minute left Morecambe in.

No matter what happens i have decided not to take the Bolton job. An end of season run of 2 wins from 12 dropped them from 4th to 10th.

GOAL!!!
63 mins - AFC RUSHDEN AND DIAMONDS 2 - 1 Leicester City - Winger Trovo played a ball across the box which was met by opposite winger Piper who took three touches before squeezing the ball between the near post and the diving keeper.

GOAL!!!
70 mins - AFC Rushden and Diamonds 2 - 2 LEICESTER CITY - Rooney crosses from the right, once bounce on the penalty spot and Campbell volleys in leaving tghe keeper rooted to the spot.

GOAL!!!
73 mins - AFC RUSHDEN AND DIAMONDS 3 - 2 Leicester City - Ball played into the centre from Kennedy, one touch from Bobbins, turns defender and ball slips past the keeper from 15 yards.

FULL TIME

AFC RUSHDEN AND DIAMONDS 3
LEICESTER CITY 2

Play Off Semi Final Second Leg

Tuesday 18th May 2021

King Power Stadium

Line Ups

FLATT

GK

BALDWIN

THOMPSON

DR

MUTCH

BENNETT

DL

DOYLE

KADAR

DC

BANCROFT

SHOTTON

DC

BOWYER

LARRAURI

MR

TROVO

WARD

ML

PIPER

SMALLWOOD

MC

KENNEDY

McKEE

MC

BREEN

ROONEY

F

HOLE

CAMPBELL

F

BOBBINS

GOAL!!!24 mins -Leicester City 0 - 1 AFC RUSHDEN AND DIAMONDS (agg 2-4) - Long ball over the top from Doyle was reached by Bobbins whose first shot was rebounded back to him, one touch to control, second touch lobs the advancing keeper from 20 yards.

GOAL!!!53 mins -Leicester City 0 - 2 AFC RUSHDEN AND DIAMONDS (agg 2-5) - A left wing drilled corss was headed into the top corner by Trovo.

GOAL!!!57 mins - LEICESTER CITY 1 - 2 AFC Rushden and Diamonds (agg 3-5) - Hopeful left wing cross from Ward was met by the diving head of Larrauri.

A through ball from loanee Hole straight between two defenders left Rushden's record league appearence and record league goalscorer one on one with the advancing keeper. Two touches later the ball is rolling past him and into the unguarded net.

GOAL!!
92 MINS

AFC RUSHDEN AND DIAMONDS 2
LEEDS UNITED 0

As Leeds threw men forward looking for a leveller the ball is pumped forward to Tommy Bobbins who rounded a defender on the half way line, ran to the edge of the box and shot across the keeper.

Well my stadium has a capacity of 6558 and two years ago i was told that we could not expand anymore. But following promotion i got a message saying that the stadium is being increased by 5600 to meet with league regulations. On the downside that leaves me with a capacity of 5800 ish for 7 months.

My training facilities are described as 'top' and being improved again and the youth are 'good'

My main issue is money. The building work has put me down to just £2m so it will be loanees and freebies at best to improve the squad.

Being such a small club in the top flight was always going to be tough and hosting two of the best teams in the country early on was not the best either. I was hopnig for one point by the end of August so we are only one from that target.

Concentration is the problem. Of the 13 goals conceded so far, 7 of them have come in either 0-5m, 41-45, 46-50m and 86-90m. The first and last five minutes are clearly a problem for us.

We started with last seasons 3rd placed side Manchester United. We were outplayed, not all suprisingly, although the second half was a tighter affair. United scored goals through Javier Hernandez, Jack Collison, Tom Cleverley and a centre back called Erik Benko who was signed from Burnley for £20.5m.

Our first away game was Burnley, amazingly finished 7th last season, and off we went to Turf Moor looking to take the game to them. Big mistake. By half time we were 5-1 down mainly down to a Charlie Austin hattrick.

The month ended with Liverpool coming to town. Morale is a little low after a couple of heavy defeats so the aim was to be more competitive but all four Liverpool goals came in the period i mentioned earlier highlighting our concentration problems.

It not all bad though, Raffa Trovo ended the month 3rd in the Young Player of the Month and Tommy Bobbins has made a good start with 2 goals in 3 Premier League games.

The League Cup gave us a tight win over a League One side. The second round sees us play Premier League side Southampton at home. This cup is not high on my list at the moment but maybe a cup run could help the confidence for the league.

The summer saw me offered the role of Premier League side Wigan. £20m to spend on transfers, £25,000 pw contract to take over the side who finished 14th last year.

On the transfer front the lack of money and stature in the game has meant i have signed nobody during the summer. It may be a mistake but all im getting is players towards the end of their career interested and no one player i went for on loan wanted to join. My scouting has been upgraded to worldwide so i will be looking closly over the coming months for players to bring in during January.

On the sales front i have lost two players to big clubs from the first team and also lost a youth teamer.

First player out was centre back Martin Bowyer. The 18 year olf played 38 times in the Championship for us last season and had attracted interest from day one. At last a club followed up that interest and Arsenal have coughed up £5.5m plus clauses. I could not stand in his way and although i would have wanted to keep him a club of this size could not turn down that kind of money.

Manchester City then opended the cheque book to sign two of my players. First up was forward Allan Lee who at 17 had played 21 league games scoring 5 times. A bid of £3.1m pkus clauses was enough to take him to the Manchester City Stadium. A week later City decided they wanted my young prospect Greg Peake. A just 16 he has played twice for me, yet to score. Offering £3.2m for an unproven player who wanted to leave after i rejected a £2m bid days before was always going to be accepted. I feel he has potential to become a good good player and hopefully his sell on fee will make the sale worthwhile.

With the fixtures for September incluing games against West Brom, Watford and Stoke i am confident we can get up and running. It will be results against these teams that decide if we stay up, not Liverpool or Manchester United results.

I made a huge mistake in the summer with the lack of signings. Money is tied up in stadium and facilities but that wont help us stay in the best league in the world. I have not given up and once we get one win, another will follow. Looking at the previous seasons to stay up we will need 36 points to be sure to be safe. That feels a long way off.

Scouting is going well and i am hopeful of completing so deals shortly ready for January 1st.

The jump between the Championship and Premier Leagues is tough. I've taken clubs from the BSS up the the Premiership in other years of FM, but its always takes a few precarious years to begin to fight back. Congrats on promotion and best of luck!

We have our first point! Yes it only a point but its something. Off the players went for a weeks break due to internationals and came back to face Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.

Those three have only won 6 of last 10 Premier League titles, 5 of last 10 FA Cups, 5 of last 10 League Cups and 3 European titles between them. As expected we were generally crushed, not helped by red cards in two of the games.

Goals are hard to come by now, just two in eight games while we are conceding far too many. I have brought in two expereinced players, goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, 37 year old former Valencia and Chelsea player while 37 year old Niko Kranjcar joins after playing for Leverkusen and Liverpool. Hopefully these two will be able to help the younger players a bit.

The first ten games have brought matches against all of the current top 5 who are already looking to pull clear of the rest so hopefully the next nine games will bring alot more points as most of those matches are against sides directly above us.

A major problem is money and this is a table showing the annual wage spend of each Premier League Club

At AFC Rushden and Diamonds we spend £103,000 pw on wages - here is a look at players that earn that a week in the Premier League